How to Make Almond Brittle at Home

Ingredients

• 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) water
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups (200 g) roasted whole almonds

Equipment

• Heavy-bottomed saucepan (thin pans burn caramel)
• Baking tray lined with parchment or a silicone mat
• Heat-proof silicone spatula
• Candy thermometer (optional — 300°F / 150°C is the hard-crack stage)

Method

1. 1. Prep everything first

   Brittle comes together in seconds once the caramel is ready — there is no pausing to measure. Warm the almonds in a 100°C oven so they don't shock the caramel, and set the lined tray next to the stove.

2. 2. Make a dry-ish caramel

   Combine sugar and water in the saucepan over medium heat. Swirl the pan occasionally, but do not stir — stirring encourages crystallization. Cook until the syrup turns a deep amber, roughly 8–10 minutes. Colour is the real cue: too pale and the brittle tastes flat; too dark and it turns bitter.

3. 3. Fold in butter and almonds

   Off the heat, whisk in the butter, salt, and vanilla. Work quickly — add the warm almonds and fold until every nut is glossed in caramel.

4. 4. Aerate with baking soda

   Sprinkle in the baking soda and stir once. The caramel will foam and pale — this is the secret to that classic brittle snap, as thousands of micro bubbles keep the sheet from turning into rock candy.

5. 5. Pour, spread, and set

   Tip the mixture onto the lined tray and spread it as thin as you can with the spatula. Leave it to set at room temperature for 20 minutes, then snap into shards with the back of a spoon.

Tips from our kitchen

• Roast your own almonds at 160°C for 10 minutes — the flavour is worlds beyond raw or pre-roasted supermarket nuts.
• Store brittle in an airtight tin with a silica sachet. In humid weather it will soften within hours if left out.
• For a chocolate finish, drizzle 70% dark chocolate over the set shards — this is how our Almond Crunch Brittle is finished.